


The Magician

by toldthestars



Category: The Magicians (TV)
Genre: Awkward Flirting, Drinking, M/M, Recreational Drug Use, queliot
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-26
Updated: 2020-08-26
Packaged: 2021-03-06 14:34:35
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,032
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26130472
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/toldthestars/pseuds/toldthestars
Summary: In which, Quentin uses some old skills in a new way.
Relationships: Quentin Coldwater/Eliot Waugh
Comments: 27
Kudos: 57





	The Magician

**Author's Note:**

> New to AO3 and Magicians fandom, but already I feel my heart has belonged to Queliot before I ever knew what it was. Here's a silly fic I wrote, inspired by the following lines from "Do I Wanna Know?" by the Arctic Monkeys. <3
> 
> Have you got color in your cheeks?  
> Do you ever get that fear that you can't shift the type  
> That sticks around like summat in your teeth?  
> Are there some aces up your sleeve?

“Okay, okay,” said Quentin. He was taking a risk, he knew it, but he suspected--he hoped--he was really pretty sure--it might just pay off. Maybe. And even the possibility was giving him a good tingle in his stomach and a touch of color on his cheeks. He stood up, and remembered with dull delight:  _ Oh, I am fucking  _ drunk _.  _

Still, he could do this. Because he wasn’t the same person he used to be. 

Noticing Quentin pulling himself to his full height, Eliot shushed the others. “Quiet, you hooligans--Quentin is  _ standing. _ ” Eliot used a sweep of his arm to direct the attention of their friends, slung on couches and chairs in the common area of the cottage, towards Quentin. 

Quentin shook out his hands. Carefully, he reached into his back jeans pocket, producing: 

His deck of cards. 

Eliot, Margo, Penny and Kady all let out an enormous, harmonized groan. 

“Hey--shut up, I’m gonna do magic.” Quentin was as deterred as he always was by the low esteem for his card tricks--which is to say, not deterred at all. He pulled the cards from their box, and shuffled them without touching a single card. 

“Yeah, yeah, yeah,” Penny groused, taking a drag of something rolled. “That might impress some muggle fuckers, but you’re in the big leagues.” 

Kady rolled her head on Penny’s shoulder to face him. “Where did you learn what a fucking muggle is?” 

Penny jerked his head at Quentin, “Where do you think?”

The others laughed, but Quentin silenced them with a wave of his hand. He turned what he hoped was his most dazzling smile on Eliot. “Please, good sir, pick a card.” 

With a wave of his hand, the cards swarmed and circled around Eliot, floating lazily in a slow-motion tornado around him. Eliot looked around himself, with an approving smile and nod.

“Auntie Em, it’s a goddamn twister,” Margo muttered, to a little eruption of snickers. 

Eliot gave Quentin a coy grin, and Quentin could tell he was enjoying being part of the show. He plucked a card from the air, and gave a theatrical sigh of mock boredom, and said, “Fine. Now what?” 

Quentin clapped his hands together in front of himself with a terrific crack, causing the others to jump as the cards filed into a neat stack, floating in front of Eliot. 

“Asshole,” Kady half-laughed, hand pressed against her chest. “Scared the shit out of me.” 

Quentin gave an enigmatic grin. In reality, the clap had nothing to do with the spell, but Eliot wasn’t the only one who liked a little performance now and again. “Good sir, please put your card back in the middle of the deck.” 

Eliot did as he was told as Margo finished a shot of something purple and leaned over on the couch to speak Kady, and by matter of proximity, Penny. “You think this good sir shit is some dom/sub thing they got going on?” 

“CAN YOU NOT?” Penny replied.

Eliot’s eyes flicked from his card to Quentin, a mischievous expression on his face. Quentin swallowed. Eliot carefully slid his card into the deck, taking his time and using long fingers to ensure the card was completely flush with the others surrounding it. 

Quentin floated the deck back to himself, and took it in his hand. 

Quentin pulled a random card from the deck. “Is this--” 

“Your card?” Kady and Margo entoned together. 

“I’m sorry, this part has no audience participation,” Quentin snapped at them, doing his best to retain an air of dignity. 

“Is this your card?” Quentin asked, showing the three of clubs. 

Eliot leaned back on the couch and shook his head, still with that small smile toying at his lips. 

“Worst. Magician. Ever,” Penny said as his head fell backwards. 

“Hm. Ah. Shit. Hang on,” Quentin shuffled quickly through the deck, facade of mystery slipping. “Oh, okay--is this your card?” Quentin flashed the ten of diamonds.

Eliot looked slightly pained, but shook his head slowly.

“Wooowwww,” Margo said. “Someone is  _ fucked  _ up.” 

“No, no--I, uh, I got this,” Quentin began to frantically flip through cards, dropping one or two as he went, swaying a little on his feet. He brushed a flop of hair from his face. “I. Hunh. I can’t seem to find your card. Well. Fuck. Shit. Uh. Eliot, have you...have you checked in your pants?” 

Eliot’s eyebrows raised abruptly. Quentin used all of his will power to keep his expression in character. The others laughed around them. 

Eliot licked his lower lip, turning to give the others a little shrug. Gamely, he rearranged himself in his seat to lean back, and pull the hem of his trousers up and peer into his own pants. He looked up at Quentin. 

“Well, there’s definitely something in there,” he said with--almost--a straight face. 

“Fucking kill me,” Penny said loudly over the laughter of the room, while Margo leaned over and took a quick peak into Eliot’s pants. “Holy shit,” she said. “There  _ is  _ a card in there.” She gave a leering grin. “Not all that’s in there. Talk about an ace up your...sleeve.” 

Eliot raised his hands to applaud, but Quentin managed to grab a wrist. 

“Um. Trick’s not quite over yet,” Quentin said, a little more quietly, maybe a little more deeply. “We need to, uh, make sure that it is, in fact, your card.” He raised an eyebrow at Eliot, gave a slight head tilt towards the stairs. Eliot smiled, wholly, broadly, brightly, and allowed himself to be pulled to his feet. 

“Um, the magician requires his...lovely assistant,” Eliot threw over his shoulder as Quentin pulled him upstairs. 

“Oh my god,” Margo groaned. “Longest fucking pick up line ever!” 

“Can’t you just say ‘let’s fuck’ like normal people?” Penny called after them. 

“Hey! It IS my card!” they heard Eliot cry out, and dissolved into laughter. 

Upstairs, Quentin pulled Eliot to him by the lapels of his vest as Eliot let the King of Hearts drop to the ground to wrap his arms around the magician. Pressed close to him, Quentin whispered against Eliot’s lips, “Ta Da.” 


End file.
